hi there, I wanted to order something online for about CHF 110, the VAT is calculated and will be paid together once I place the order. Just wondering if there is any extra fee when I receive the parcel from post office? like customs clearance or customs duties?
MwsT at 2.5 or 7.7% depending on the goods, possibly some import duty depending on the goods and from what country and a handling charge, usually between 20 and 30 chufs, but can be more
Since the OP lives in Basel I would consider swisspaket or any other service.
On another note, when buying from an online store you should always check where the product is being shipped from. Sometimes even though the website's address ends with .ch the products are shipped from outside of Switzerland and in the shipping conditions it very often says in small print that the import costs are paid by the buyer. Very annoying...
This happens when the seller don't include the proper paperwork in the shipping. Proper paperwork means a declaration of value for customs. If this paper is included, customs calculates VAT for declared value, sends the invoice to you by post.
If not, customs has to determine the value of the thing, and that's why they charge admin costs. So, buy from experienced sellers, avoid idiots.
Quite a few companies are now accepting that if people are ordering from abroad, their customers don't want the uncertainty of not knowing how much the final charge will be until after they have received the package.
These companies work out everything up front - including duty payable, VAT, and shipping.
The price you pay at the checkout is the final price.
There are also a lot of companies doing the complete opposite - especially drop-shippers but also many others who have a website with a .ch domain but with suitably vague delivery terms.
With there, you can end up getting a massive bill in the post with VAT, delivery and admin costs attached. Beware!
I buy a lot of stuff via borderfree, and they calculate tax and duty along with shipping. Shipping is inconsistent though. One vendor will charge $20 to ship $300 worth of stuff and another will charge $60 for something of less value. And some contract with DHL through Aramex and sometimes DHL sends me a text when I can expect my package, other times not. Same borderfree account, different level of service.
They may choose to check the invoice matches the declared value, they may open the parcel to ensure the product value matches.
I paid an admin fee on a sushi knife from Japan - it was all declared properly. I guessed they were checking it was legal. I already had taken into account I might have to pay an admin fee when I bought it, and had the cash ready.
Some on-line sites, such as Amazon .fr .de, but not .co.uk, .com, will recalculate the price removing local VAT and adding Swiss VAT (which they pay directly to the Swiss). These seem to reduce shipping times and will never have a customs charge.
I hate Amazon, but I do appreciate this feature. Not it doesn’t always apply to stuff someone is selling via Amazon.
One with a list of international overseas companies who ship to Switzerland and deal with tax, duty etc upfront and another with companies with less-than-transparent delivery/tax/duty terms.
The latter shouldn't necessarily be avoided but should come with a caveat emptor warning.
I will note that M&S(dot CH) does something similar to Amazon (dot DE). They take the full retail price (including VAT) in pounds, convert it at a crap rate into francs and then add 7.7% Swiss VAT. So you end up paying 7.7% on top of the UK's 20%.
Yeah, I feel like M&S really doesn't want the Swiss market anymore. Ever since they changed to the system of dedicated country websites, everything is much more expensive. I've pointed this out to them but they are really hellbent on running Sparks into the ground, they do not want my money.
Meanwhile, it works out cheaper for me to order things from Next Direct for delivery here in Switzerland than it does for my family who is buying stuff in the UK. I guess that is the result of a good exchange rate and Next only charging the Swiss VAT.